Donald Trump would not be the first US president to make an appearance at the Ryder Cup.
And he would do well to make it anywhere near as meaningful as George W. Bush in 1999.
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Trump, an avid golf fan and player, owns numerous high-profile courses around the worldCredit: AFP
Trump has indicated his willingness to attend the opening day in New York on September 26 as the Americans try to regain the famous trophy from Europe.
“It will be a great Ryder Cup. At the invite of the PGA Tour, I will be there on tournament Friday!” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social.
The PGA Tour do not have anything to do with the Ryder Cup – the PGA of America (a totally separate entity) are the hosts – but that’s by the by.
Trump also called on American captain Keegan Bradley to pick himself for the team, advice which the golfer subsequently ignored.
And if the 48-minute delay at the US Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is anything to go by, Trump showing up at Bethpage Black would likely become a logistical nightmare.
Nevertheless, there is one undeniable impact that Trump’s presence would have on the American crowd – a rush of patriotism.
Those chants of ‘USA, USA’ will grow even louder in what is already expected to be a ferociously hostile environment for the Europeans.
But however rowdy it gets, the crowd will do well to match what became known as the ‘Battle of Brookline’ in 1999.
As veteran broadcaster Alistair Cooke wrote, this marked the arrival of the ‘golf hooligan’.
It went down in history as the moment the Ryder Cup went too far, as American fans targeted the Europeans – including their wives and girlfriends – with vitriolic abuse throughout the week.
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The 1999 Ryder Cup in Massachusetts is forever remembered for all the wrong reasonsCredit: Getty
This infamously spilled over during the Sunday Singles when Justin Leonard holed a long putt against Jose Maria Olazabal.
The Americans raced onto the green and celebrated in front of Olazabal, who still had a putt to save the match.
It meant rather than talking about one of the greatest-ever Ryder Cup comebacks, the golfing world found itself embroiled in a row over etiquette that would go on for years.
What did George W. Bush do at the 1999 Ryder Cup?
One story that got lost in the carnage was Bush’s inspirational role in the USA’s stunning resurgence on Sunday.
The Americans found themselves 10-6 down, and Europe only needed four points out of the remaining 12 on offer to retain the cup.
Like Trump and many other US presidents, Bush is obsessed with golf, and was summoned to the team room on Saturday night to try and galvanise Ben Crenshaw’s stricken men.
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Bush would become the 43rd president of the US two years after the 1999 Ryder CupCredit: Getty
At this point in time, the man who would become the 43rd president of the United States was governor of Texas – where Crenshaw hails from.
Crenshaw had refused to give up, and on the Saturday night he told the press: “I’m going to leave y’all with one thought – I’m a big believer in fate and I have a good feeling about this match.”
In a motivational speech, Bush read the 12 players an extract from a famous letter written by William Travis, the commander of the besieged Texan forces at the Alamo in 1836.
The letter became known as ‘Victory or Death’ – as Travis pleaded for reinforcements and refused to surrender to his enemies.
Bush read: “I call on you, in the name of liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch.
“If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his honour and that of his country.”
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Bush went to the 1999 Ryder Cup as a fan but ended up playing a starring roleCredit: Getty
The message was simple: the odds are not in your favour – and death is the likeliest outcome – but that does not mean you surrender without a fight.
The room was apparently so filled with emotion that David Duval left it screaming: “Let’s go out and kill them!”
And they did.
The first six matches on Sunday all went to the Americans, and they ultimately won by a single point.
It is not entirely clear what role Trump will play in the 2025 Ryder Cup – but he will have a hard job living up to that.